Daniel Georgievski: Australian football almost ruined my career

He’s won titles at Melbourne Victory and is now part of a Newcastle Jets squad that’s threatening for the A-League title, but Daniel Georgievski has revealed Australian football nearly derailed his career before it even began.

Writing for Players’ Voice, the self-described “wog from Blacktown” recounted how his fledgling football career in Croatia caught a quarter-million dollar.

After a year at Dinamo Zagreb, Georgievski signed with Medimurje, when Aussie football came calling.

So was he receiving a call-up to the Olyroos? No, his club was copping a bill.

“I signed for a year, but after six months the club got a letter from the governing body back in Australia asking for a training compensation fee of $250,000 on behalf of the clubs I’d played for as a kid,” Georgievski wrote.

“The people at Medimurje said, ‘We don’t have that sort of money. If we have to pay it you’ll have to go.’

“Fortunately, I was able to get a very good agent to sort it out for me without the club having to pay.

“It was a bit rich asking for that sort of money when I wasn’t even a rep player back home, so when people ask me how did Australian football help you I say, ‘They almost ruined my European career.’“

It wasn’t the only time money was an issue during Georgievski’s time playing in Europe, with Croatian club Sibenik failing to pay him.

“They paid for my apartment and food, but if I needed cash I had to rely on my parents. I wasn’t a big spender, though. If I had enough to buy a good coffee I was happy,” Georgievski wrote.

“I eventually took the club to FIFA and after two or three years I ended up getting the money I was owed, but at the time I didn’t have a cent to my name.”

As for the Marconi junior’s prospects of playing for the Socceroos, the Macedonian international said playing for his parents’ nation of birth was simply a case of a lack of interest from the green and gold:

“I got called up for the Macedonian full national team at 24. My dad said, ‘Maybe you should hold off a bit, Australia might want you to play for the Socceroos,’ but I never heard anything from them and I had the chance to play European and World Cup qualifiers.”

With Macedonia having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Georgievski’s next piece of silverware is most likely to come on the back of success with the Jets.

Bookmakers Neds have Ernie Merrick’s side at $6.00 to win this season’s A-League grand final – Neds have Melbourne City at the same odds, while Sydney FC are the $1.95 favourites.

Newcastle’s next match is Friday night’s game against Melbourne City, where Neds rate them as $3.40 outsiders to secure the win.

This content brought to you by Neds, odds correct at time of publication